Fostering Youth Employment in Kenya

Unemployment in Kenya among the youth continues to be a concern that the country has been grappling with for a couple of years. In the year 2022, the youth unemployment rate in Kenya saw no significant changes in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 13.35%. Still, 2022 marked the second consecutive decline of the youth unemployment rate.

Purity Ngugi, Hub Operator at SokoFresh, Nkubu Meru 

In November 2021, SokoFresh, Mobile Solar Powered Storage Unit Service provider took their storage and cooling services to Meru County. The company’s initial objective was to enhance climate adaptation through a business model innovation to provide Mobile Solar Powered Storage Unit Services to small farmers. Through its services, SokoFresh was able to reduce post-harvest loss to less than 10%, and drastically increase the income of smallholder farmers in the banana and avocado value chains.

In collaboration with small holder farmers, the company has recruited and trained youths in the various counties they work to teach them harvesting and post-harvest handling techniques for their products, ensuring minimal waste.

Philip Muyu banana harvester for SokoFresh in Nkubu, Meru County

Philip Muyu a banana harvester at the SokoFresh Hub in Nkubu Meru studied building and masonry but has not been able to find a job. However, he is happy he accepted an offer from SokoFresh to join the team of banana harvester in October 2022.

“In a day I can earn between 1000 and 1,200 Kenya Shillings and this money has helped me grow my chicken farming and boost my savings’, he explains.

Ï would urge other youths to consider joining us in this informal sector because the availability of formal employment is scarce,’ he concludes.

Simon Kiguru, the partnerships lead at SokoFresh is a Bachelor of Science graduate from Moi University who studied entrepreneurship and had passion for computer science. However, he found himself in the agricultural space and has risen through the ranks at SokoFresh to get to his current position.

 “Through the hubs we have been able to employ over 70% youth and 33% women. Over 80% of our total staff fall under the youth bracket (under 35 years of age) even as we continue to work on a gender inclusion plan” he says.

Working with the youth in Meru and Muranga County has not only ensured the transfer of harvesting skills but has served to reduce petty crimes within the areas and motivated a respectable number of them to start farming.

SokoFresh has been working with the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) since 2019. The fund has since provided a EUR 236,000 grant and SNV technical assistance package for SokoFresh Off Grid Cold Storage that has been implemented since 20th May 2021.

By Rosemary Nzuki